The Sacrament of Matrimony
I read a quote once that went something like this: “Marriage is impossible to accomplish by humans, and that’s why Jesus made it a sacrament.” That beautiful, self-giving, loving, world building act is made sacramental by the Lord Jesus Christ through the Church. I learned all about the Sacrament of Matrimony in my (almost last) OCIA class.
Besides faith, which underpins and strengthens every aspect of our lives, marriage is the second most important thing we can partake in. In the Catholic Church, it is more than just holding a wedding in a church or slapping a blessing on a contract. It is a reflection of Christ’s paschal mystery and the love of the Trinity, it is an expression and sign of God’s love, and it is self-giving, forgiving, faithful, intimate, and creative. Not only does a sacramental marriage make present Christ within the marriage, but it is also a sign of Christ’s love to those around the married couple.
In marriage, the relationship of the man and woman is the sacrament that reveals the love of God for all of us.
Here is an excerpt from the OCIA material on the importance of marriage:
“The Church didn’t invent marriage. At first, there wasn’t even a special Christian form of marriage. Through Jesus’ teachings, the faithful realized that marriage should be appreciated as a sacred vocation. The Church continues to praise the goodness of family life and to teach that married love is a sharing in God’s love.
“Christians see marriage as a sacred covenant, a way of joining the shared lives of a couple with God. It’s a way of living that adds richness and value to married lives—and serves as a witness of God’s love.”
We began to understand the true nature of married love only when we realize that it comes from God, and that love becomes a reflection of it.
Here is a quote from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1626-1627):
“The exchange of consent between the spouses to be the indispensable element that makes the marriage…The partners mutually give themselves to each other: ‘I take you to be my wife—’ I take you to be my husband.’ This consent that binds the spouses to each other finds its fulfillment in the two ‘becoming one flesh.’”
Married love has six characteristics:
1. Self-giving – the man and woman give themselves, wholeheartedly and unconditionally, to one another.
2. Forgiving – the man and woman are willing to reconcile again and again for mistakes and transgressions
3. Faithful – it is an unending commitment to between the married husband and wife. “It means affirmation instead of criticism, openness instead of dismissiveness, communication instead of silence, collaboration instead of demands. Modeled on God’s faithfulness, married love accepts, affirms, looks for the good, and encourages personal growth.”
4. Intimate – it is sexual, emotional, and spiritual intimacy that is enjoyed between the man and woman
5. Creative – put plainly, making babies
6. Oneness – the man and woman truly become one. They are two imperfect halves that create a whole.
A sacramental marriage can never be dissolved. However, there is something called an “annulment” in the Catholic Church. No, this is not “Catholic divorce,” but is a serious process where the Church investigates if the marriage was ever valid in the first place. They take great strides to ensure this. This process also does not affect the legitimacy of children. All children, no matter what, are considered blessings from God in the eyes of the Church.
There is so much more to say about marriage. It is something that is mistreated, avoided, and disrespected all throughout our culture, and the catastrophic results of it are obvious. Strong, healthy marriages help create strong, healthy families, and that creates strong, healthy societies. I will be discussing all these things in the future.
Thank you for reading, and God bless!
